Till I Hear You Sing
by VictoriaFirewraith
Summary: Gajeel was a young boy when he heard the most beautiful voice singing, but it ended when bandits raided the village. Ten years later, he is now a part of a group of thieves, on their way to steal the kings gold, only to find a large gilded cage and a girl sitting on a swing. AU, OOC (maybe?) GaLe
1. Into The Sky

In the descending light of the sun, a village awoke with festivities. Twinkling lights in houses lit up the night as people laughed and dance. This was the town called Daina, where it was famed for its festivals and the legend of the Song Bird.

The Song Bird is as old as the Phoenix, where it passes through the generations granting a single person the title of Song Bird. Though only one can live during their time, so as one dies, another is born. Whether it's from the same family line or different families, it does not matter to the people of Daina.

As one dies and a new one is born, always with the signature blue hair. As the new are taught how to sing. The Song Bird songs give anyone who hears good fortune, for that they are sought from all over the world. But the small village of Daina is actually nomadic and travels across the earth.

As the festival goes on outside, the current Song Bird, a girl of age 7, gets ready for her performance. Wearing the traditional blue feather dress and the bird mask, she stands before a door. Getting herself prepared for her first song.

* * *

A young boy of age ten, with his black hair tied in a low pony tail and eyes bright red, wanders through the town. Dodging left and right of hustling people. He soon found himself in the middle of the road as a large float came toward him. He stumbled back into the crowd as the float went past.

He marveled at the light and noise that rang through the village. As his ears were more sensitive than others, he was able to hear more of the on goings of the festival, including the sound of a beautiful voice. Following it, it led him towards a small stage where a girl not much younger than him stood, wearing a blue feather dress. He guessed that this was the legendary Song Bird, but he excepted someone older.

As he got closer, the words of her song got clearer.

"Remember me once in a while. Please promise me you'll try," she sang.

People who could hear her voice had their eyes closed and small smiles on their faces as they listened to her song.

The boy stood there also, listening to her song. Though he could not she her face, he enjoyed being in her presence. He felt something warm inside him building up.

But it all ended when a scream shattered the peace. The girl stopped her song and people looked towards where the scream might have come from. A fire had broken out on the edge of the village and black riders where running through the streets.

"It's Phantom Lord!" Someone yelled.

Soon the crowd turned into a frenzy as people ran in all directions trying to get away from the now large engulfing fire and the bandits that were raiding the town. Only minding their own troubles, people pushed and shoved, ignoring anyone else. The boy was knocked down, but thankfully he wasn't run over yet. To some trouble, he was able to get back up again and glanced at the stage. At first he didn't see the girl, but found her cowering on the other side of the stage.

"FIND THE SONG BIRD!" A voice rang out; the boy looked beyond the crowd, to see a lone man riding a large black stallion who gave out the order to his men.

The boy acted quickly and ran to the girl. She gave a small yelp when he grabbed her arm.

"Don't worry! I'll bring you somewhere safe!" he yelled over the noise. Having no hesitation, he pulled her along, running with the last few stragglers. There was nowhere to truly run. Spying a lone house, he pulled the girl and looked around. He found a strange looking cabinet made out of metal. He opened it to find enough room for her to fit.

"Get in!" he yelled, pushing her in.

"What are about you?" she whimpered.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he grinned at her before closing the door. He turned around, pressing his back to the cabinet. Taking a deep breath, he walked outside. The village was now a raging fire and the house they were at caught fire. He looked around for water, but was stopped by the man on the large black stallion.

"What do we have here? A young boy," he sneered, "Tell me boy, do you know where the Song Bird is?"

"No, and even if I did, I won't tell you!" he spat.

The man grinned, "The boy has spunk, I can use someone like you in my ranks," he snapped his fingers and another man scooped up the boy who protested.

The man and his group in tow, with the boy, left the village burned to ash. The man didn't get what he wanted, but he was sure she had run away….

* * *

Hours later as the fire died down and the sun rose into the ashen sky. A small man rode a white stallion leading a small army to the fallen village. He took a look around the burned village and gave a small sigh of regret, "I didn't make it time,"

A soldier appeared at his side, "Sire, its seem there are no survivors. They were either burned, killed, or all ran away as Phantom Lord attacked."

"I see…one more thing left to do then," he startled to whistle and sing, "I whistle a happy tune and every single time, The happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid,"

The soldiers glanced at their king confused, wondering why he was whistling and singing. A small creak sounding after the king finished his tune. A lone metal cabinet was one of many things that stood and its door opened.

The soldiers got in their fighting stances in case of trouble, but immediately stood to the side as they realized who came out. It was a small girl wearing a blue feathered dress and mask. The king smile sadly and hopped off his horse. He walked over to the girl, who stumbled back.

"Don't worry child," he said to her, bring his arm up, "I'm not a mean person. You can tell from my song, can't you? That's one of the abilities of the Song Bird,"

The girl nodded, taking his hand.

"I'm sorry to say that arrived late, but I offer you to come stay at my castle," he offered, "you can be my daughter. My only son is dead and my grandson renounced his name and ran away, so I have no left to spend time with,"

The girl slowly nodded, realizing her fate as the village no longer stands and the boy who protected her was gone.

The man grinned, "My name is Makarov, but if you would like, you can call me father,"

The girl took off her mask to reveal wavy blue hair and brown eyes, "My name is Levy,"

Makarov smiled and his large mustache tipped upwards. He pulled Levy towards his horse, "Come now child, everything will be ok,"

She glance back at the village once more as they left and the single cabinet that stood, finally turned to ashes.


	2. This is not my idea

Ten years later from that night…

* * *

"Miss Levy! Miss Levy, where are you?" a maid shouted as she hustled through the castle walls. Her blond hair was wild and unbrushed as she hastily looked through every room to find the young girl. Another maid appears before her, this one with pink and chains on her hands.

"Princess, I-," she started to say before the blond maid placed her hand on the others mouth and shushed her.

"Don't call me that when we're working, Virgo!" she whispered, "I told you to call me Lucy while we are in the castle,"

"Sorry….Miss Lucy," Virgo said, "But I found the Princess; she is currently in the library,"

Lucy smacked herself in the head, "Of course! Where else shall she be?" Lucy started to walk off, but turned back to Virgo, "Thank you for your help Virgo, go back to your other duties,"

"Yes, Princess," Virgo said before disappearing in a hole in the floor.

"Not in the castle!" Lucy screamed down the hole, hoping Virgo heard her. Lucy shook her head and headed off to the library.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through beautiful stained-glass windows, telling tales of brave heroes and courageous women. The color shined across large book case holding many books. Large stacks of book surrounded a plush, red chair that held girl that was small for her age. Her unruly blue hair was tied back with a white bandana and red-rimmed glasses covered her large brown eyes.

With a book in her hand and a small smile on her face, she leaned back into her chair and enjoyed the book. Till Lucy came crashing in.

"Miss Levy! There you are! I've been looking all over for you," she exclaimed as she past piles of books.

"Well, you found me," Levy replied, turning the page.

"Miss Levy," Lucy sighed, "it's almost time for the young men to arrive,"

Levy quickly finished the chapter she was on, before closing and setting it to the side. Lucy noticed she was grimacing.

"Why are these men coming to ask for my hand?" she grumbled.

Lucy sighed and walks over to Levy, "How long have we known each other?"

Surprised by her question, Levy didn't answered at first, "5 years, why?"

Lucy took Levy's hand and started to walk toward the doors, "Since we've been friends for 5 years, I would say they are here simply to try to become king since you are next in line, but I am also your head maid, which then I would said, they each would learn to love you and you would love them….whoever you chose….and blah blah blah, it's the duties of the princess,"

Levy smiled at her friends answer as she led them to her dressing rooms, where Ezra, head of the knights and Mirajane, head of the servants awaited them.

"You're late," Ezra chided.

"Sorry," Levy and Lucy chimed together.

"Oh hush now," Mirajane said, grabbing Levy's hand, pulling her towards her wardrobe, "What shall you wear today?"

Her wardrobe was open revealing a couple of outfits. Mirajane pulled out two outfits to show to everyone in the room. One was a long sleeveless green dress and the other was a long blue room.

"I think the green would suit your eyes," Mirajane said as she brought the dress nearer.

"No," Ezra said, pulling out another dress, "This red china dress is better,"

Levy sighed as Ezra and Mirajane started to fight over which dress she should wear, when she noticed one of her simpler dresses. It was a short yellow dress with moveable sleeves….it would match the current bandana she was wearing.

"This one," she said, taking it out, "and does it matter what I wear? It's not like they can see…"

"I agree," Lucy said as she stepped forward, "you'll be above them anyways. Now," she pushed levy to another door, "go get change, times a wasting,"

* * *

7 Large carriages arrived in the castles courtyard. Princes from 7 other kingdoms have arrived to the castle to try and earn the Princess's hand in marriage. They all heard there was a task to be done to earn the approval of the Princess, but it was a secret to all outsiders, except for certain people within the castle.

They waited in the grand hall.

* * *

Levy opened the door to the large ballroom. She walked to the edge of the balcony and glanced over. The floor was mostly empty except for a single chair facing the doors to the grand hall. Levy once again sighed and walked over to a single metal staircase leading up.

The stairs led to a large gilded cage, where most would think a giant bird would live, but this was what Levy considered as her room. There was a desk, covered in papers, a bed, and a small book case filled with her favorite books. There was also a swing that she likes to sit on. There was another door on the other side of the cage and beside it was a bundle up rope ladder. That if she likes that prince, that would be the only way to get down to the ballroom floor.

Why does she do this? Because most thought that she, the Song Bird, was dead. She had kept her identity hidden ever since she came here to the castle. Only the King and the men that came with him knew who she was. Not even her servants knew, they all thought she was the King's last born child or last grandchild, no one was sure.

She sat down on her swing, kicking her legs forward and backward, setting the swing in movement, and waiting for the first prince to come in.

* * *

Each Prince was instructed by the two guards, Jet and Droy, who stood before the ballroom doors, on how the Princess will choose. Each of them will have to sing a song.

A song? What type of song? They ask. Any type of song really, songs that express their passion for something. The air grew heavy as the Princes thought of what songs that they were to sing. A solemn hand rose in the air and a Prince stood forward. He was ready to try to woo the Princess with his song. The guards nodded at him and told him to announce himself as he walked in and to NOT sit on the chair.

The guards opened the door and he walked in, the doors closed behind him with a loud bang.

"I am Lyon Vastia, and I hail from the country Lamia," he said, but he only received the squeaking of something moving, he coughed, "Very well then, I saw begin,"

He sang a song called, 'Ice, Ice, Baby,' which he gotten all he got was total silence. He slumped in defeat, as he walked off, he mumbled something about a water women.

The next Prince was Sho from the country of Heaven's Tower. He sang the song, 'Skyfall.' He too receive no noticed that the Princess had taking a liken to his song. The Third Prince was Rufus Lohr, who hailed from the land of Saber tooth's. He sang the song, 'Thanks for the memories,' and he also failed. Two of the other Princes that waited got discouraged and left, leaving the last two to try their best, but they too failed.

* * *

King Makarov looked over his kingdom from his window and sighed as he watches 7 carriages disappearing beyond his walls. He took a stroll down to the Ballroom where found his daughter leaving, "Levy, my dear,"

She froze mid-step and turned around to face him, "Oh, hello father, how are you today?"

Makarov stared her down, "My health has gotten better, but I fear for the worse….when will you ever find a suitor?"

Levy huffed, "Till someone sings the perfect song and besides….I…I don't want to rule this kingdom just yet, I want to explore the outside world like I almost did when I was young,"

The sternness left Makarov eyes as they were now filled with sadness, "I know child," he walked over and took her hand, "but we know there are people still looking for you beyond these walls, I just don't want to see you get hurt,"

Levy smiled, "I know father,"

Makarov smiled in return, "come on now, it's time for dinner. I hear Mirajane is cooking her special tonight,"

* * *

Somewhere beyond the castles walls….

A pink haired boy watched the castle with a pair of binoculars. He was watching 7 carriages leaving the castle gates and unto the road when he noticed something flashing to the side. It was his Lacrima, he picked it up as an image came to view, and it showed a blonde haired man with a scar over his left.

"Anything to report, Salamander?" he asked.

"Only that the 7 carriages that arrive earlier are now leaving and past the gates," he replied, "also, there are only seemed to be two rounds of guards at each point. A day guard and a night guard,"

"Figured," the man grumbled, "alright then…report to the others that we're going in tonight,"

"Aye sir!" A blue chat chimed in. Wings suddenly appeared on his back and flew off to the distance.

* * *

**1randomuser:** Thank you for loving this, but I regret to tell you that this is not a Phantom of the Opera/Love Never Dies fic. The song, Till I hear you once more, inspired me to write this story….though I will use the song later on J I do have plans to write a Phantom of the Opera Fairy Tail story, but that is for later when I finish some other stories.


	3. Listen like thieves

The blue cat hovered above a forest, searching for something among the trees. Something shot out through the trees, toward the blue cat. He stopped midair and was wondering if it was an enemy, but it turned out to be someone he knows.

As it came closer, it was a black cat with wings like him and a scar crossed over his left.

"Any news, Happy?" The black cat asked.

"Aye! We attack tonight, Lily," Happy said.

"Pantherlily if you please," Pantherlily grumbled.

"Nope!" Happy smiled at him, "Where are the other two?"

Pantherlily nodded his head down, pointing Happy's attention back to the tree line where he could smoke rising above the trees. Glancing back at Pantherlily, Happy flew off towards the smoke with Pantherlily right behind him.

The two flew silently as they reached their destination. Two people sat across each other with a fire in between them. Happy descended down first and he landed beside a guy with short, spiky, black hair and dark blue eyes. Happy noticed he wasn't wearing any clothes. Pantherlily landed beside the other, who unlike the other guy, he had long black hair, red eyes, and piercings on his face.

"Gray, Gajeel, tonight is the night," Pantherlily grinned.

"Finally," Gajeel stretched, "all this sneaking around and checking out the castle took too long; I was wondering if we'll actually get to steal the King's treasure,"

"Me too….I bet I'll get to see it first," Gray grinned.

"Yeah right Stripper, it will be me,"

"I doubt it," Gray growled as he stood up.

"Oh yeah?" Gajeel said as he too got up. The two were about to fight when a streak of lighting hit the ground between them. The fell backwards in surprise as Happy and Pantherlily dived for cover. In the place where the lighting strikes, stood a very man.

"Laxus!" Gajeel and Gray both said.

"Why is it, every time I come back, I always find you two and Natsu about to fight?" he rumbled. Gray and Gajeel shrugged their shoulders as Laxus sighed, "Very well then, Seeing Happy here, you probably told you two were going in tonight. At midnight. Gray, do you have the blueprints of the castle and its walls?"

"Yup," he said, pulling out a rolled up paper from a bag that sitting on the ground behind him. He unrolled it to show the others, "got it right here,"

"Good, we'll head out now to meet Natsu at the meeting point" Laxus nodded, "Oh and Gray?"

"Yea?"

"Put on some clothes!"

* * *

Sometime around midnight….

The four thieves, led by Laxus, were able to get into the castle with no problems at all. They've been planning this heist for over a month, watching and learning every guard's movements, looking over old and new blueprints of the castle, searching for any pathways in. They did everything they could in their power to get in without raising alarm.

Happy and Pantherlily stayed back at camp to protect their things in case someone else tried to steal their stuff.

The four had finally made it to the Grand Hall. Natsu marveled at the interior on how spacious it was, while Gray looked at the blueprint.

"It says right here, that the King's treasure is in the ballroom," he explained.

"Ballroom?" Gajeel questioned him, "shouldn't it be in its own room or under the castle with guards guarding it? 'Cuz I don't see any guards,"

Gray shrugged, "Don't know, don't care."

"Which door was it?" Laxus asked and Gray pointed to a pair of large doors north of them. Laxus nodded and walked forward. Natsu rushed forward to try and open it first, but Gray pulled him back to try to get ahead of him, only having both to be pushed back by Laxus. He opened the door with both hands; a small light crept through the opening as it got wider.

"WE DI-" Natsu exclaimed, but he stopped midway when he realized there was nothing in the room besides a single chair, "Did you mess up, droopy eyes?!"

"NO! The blueprint clearly says the treasure was supposed to be here!" Gray yelled.

This time, Laxus wasn't able to hold the two back from fighting.

* * *

Levy's eyes fluttered open as the sounds of fighting reached her ears. She got up wearily to see the soft candle glow from the floor below her. In the glow, there shadows that seemed to be fighting. Levy got up slowly and shuffled to the other end of the cage. She couldn't see anything over the extended edge of the cage, so she went and tried the swing. She only saw the tops of four heads by where she sat, so she decided to swing to get a better view.

She saw four men, two were fighting.

* * *

"Hold on you two," Laxus growled and Natsu and Gray stop mid-fight, "Do you hear that?"

The other three stood silent and strained their ears to hear what Laxus was hearing. It was a squeaking sound, like if someone was moving something, but it didn't sound someone was moving it from move place to another, it was in that room.

"Uh, Hello there…." A soft voice said. The four took fighting stances.

"Who's there?!" Natsu growled.

"I should be the one saying that, after all, you four entered by room,"

"Your room?" Laxus questioned, "If this is your room, then where are you?"

"Up here,"

The four thieves looked up to see a large round circle and in the glint of candle light, long poles that reached the ceiling. They could see something moving in it, but it would disappear for a moment and then return.

"What is that?" Gray asked.

"You can say it's a bird cage,"

"Bird cage…?" Gajeel asked slowly, for some reason the voice from above sounded really familiar to him, but he couldn't place where.

"Yea….I wanted it because of a position I hold…or something like that…"

"What position is this?" Laxus asked.

"And where's the treasure?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Well I'm….the princess here,"

"PRINCESS?!" Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel exclaimed together.

"Princess…? I haven't heard anything about a princess," Laxus whispered, his eyes grew dark.

"Uh, yea…"

"Then you must be the King's treasure," Laxus said.

"I guess I am, father always said I was his treasure…"

"Father…?!" Laxus was getting more surprised with every word the person was saying, but he shook his head in the end, concentrating on the task at hand, "Very well then, if you're the treasure, we've come to steal you,"

"Steal me?"

"Yup!" Natsu said as he looked around, "Now how to get up there…?" he mumbled to himself.

"Wait, hold on! I'll come with you willingly if do one thing!" the voice shouted.

"And what is that?" Gray asked.

"Each of you has to sing a song for me. If I like it, I'll come with you, if not, you can try to come and get me while I scream for the guards,"

"SING?!"


	4. Till I hear You sing

**Short and long singing!**

* * *

"Yes, sing," Levy said. She was slightly amused at their reaction when she told them they have to sing, "It's a thing I like, I can tell how one feels through the songs they sing,"

"It will be much easier to climb up and get her," Gray grumbled.

"I don't think so," Levy replied, still swinging, "Just sing, I promise no one will charge in and capture you,"

* * *

The four thieves were silent, wondering how good their options were. Do they just try and take the princess by force? Or listen to her request and sing? Either way, someone is bound to here them.

"Fine," Laxus said. The other three stared at him, surprised that Laxus actually said yes to the girl, "What do you want us to sing?"

"Anything would do, as long you each do it one at a time and the other three wait in the Grand Hall,"

All four looked at each other and suddenly Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel were out the door, leaving Laxus in the ballroom alone with the girl.

"We vote Laxus to go first!" they said in unison as they disappeared behind the doors. Laxus growled at them before turning to the cage.

"Idiots. Fine I'll go first," he said loudly.

"Make sure you say your names before you sing," Levy said, eager to hear the first guy to sing.

"Very well, I'm Laxus…" Laxus said, standing tall, arms crossed. He could feel the others eyes on him. They had opened the door a crack to peek through. He stood there in silence, before turning around and hastily walked away.

"What, where are you going?" Levy asked.

"Sorry, but can't think of anything to sing," he said. He went behind the door and pushed the pink-haired guy out, "Natsu's next!"

"Ah! Wait, I'm not ready!" he tried to get back to the other room, but the guys pushed him back, "fine!" he stomped toward the middle of the room, he took a stance and took a deep breath, out of his mouth came a tone-death song.

"WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE! It was always BURNING! Since the worlds been turning! We didn't start the FI-YAHHHHH, NO! We didn't light it! But we tried to fight iiittttttt!"

"STOP!" Levy exclaimed and Natsu stopped.

"What?" he asked, he heard snickers behind him.

"Uhm, it was a lovely song….im sure….but it's not what im looking for, uh sorry,"

"Oh ok," he replied a bit downheartedly, but a smile grew on his face as he walked back to the door, grabbed Gray and pushed him out. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance.

He grumbled as he walked forward and said his name, "I'm Gray," He closed his eyes and started to sing. Levy moved her head in the rhythm of the song he sang. It was an interesting song with a slow tone to it.

"I am in the place I want to be. Though we know it will all end eventually, but it's all right cause now we're frozen…" Gray sang. Unlike Natsu, he was able to sing his whole song, but with no word from Levy saying how well his song went, he shrugged and walked off. It was now Gajeel's turn.

As soon as Gray past him, Gajeel walked in. Laxus had told him during Grays turn, that if he also fails (which is a definitely yes from Laxus) he should pounce on cage using his magic and take the princess before she sends an alarm to the guards.

"I'm Gajeel," he said as he reached the middle like the others. He could hear the others talking about his choice of song behind him.

"He's probably going to sing that shoo be do bop song of his," Gray said.

"No," Gajeel growled, "I'm going to try something different!"

"Oh yea? Like Shoo be do bop version 2?" Natsu joked and Gray laughed with him.

Gajeel growled at them before he started to sing, taking them and Laxus by surprise.

"Ten long years, living a mere façade of life. Ten long years, wasting my time on smoke and noise," Gajeel sang in a melodious tone, "in my mind, I hear melodies pure and unearthly, but I find I can't give them a voice without you,"

No one realized that levy had stopped swinging, all eyes were on Gajeel.

"My bird, my bird. Lost and gone, lost and gone. The day starts, the day ends. Time crawls by; night steals in pacing the floor. The moments creep, yet I can't bear to sleep, til I hear you sing," no noticed that a rope ladder was hanging to the side and moving slightly.

"And weeks pass and months pass; seasons fly. Still you don't walk through the door and in a haze, I count the silent days till I hear you sing once more," Gajeel had gotten so much into his song, he had his eyes close and couldn't hear the small footsteps. Neither did the others, they were amazed at Gajeel's singing talent.

"And sometimes at night time, I dream that you are there, but wake holding nothing but the empty air! And years come and years, times runs dry. Still I ache down to the core. My broken soul can't be alive and whole till I hear you sing once more,"

Now as this was going on, the King had awoken from his slumber and decided to check on his daughter.

"And music, your music. It teases at my ear, I turn and it fades away and you're not here!"

The king stopped at the door. Someone was singing and it was male voice. Makarov slowly opened the door and singing got louder. He walked over to the balcony's edge and he was surprised at the scene before him.

"Lets hopes pass! Let's dreams pass! Let them die! Without you, what are they for? I'll always feel no more than halfway real. Till I hear you sing once more!"

Gajeel huffed as he finished his song. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the ceiling. His eyes wandered to the cage, but no word from the princess. He shrugged and took a step back, ready to use his magic when he heard a sigh.

He glanced down and in the once empty chair, was a small girl with blue hair.

"That was a lovely song," she said, "what inspired you to sing that,"

"Oh uh…" Gajeel mumbled figuring out the best to explain his song when Natsu and Gray popped in.

"It's about a lost lover I think," Natsu said.

"Who made Gajeel fall head over heels with her singing," Gray grinned. Gajeel pushed them both off in anger and embrassement that they were able (somewhat) get it right. Levy giggled by the sight. She stood up and bowed.

"I'm Levy,"

Laxus strode past the three and towards Levy, "Now, since you obviously liked Gajeel's song, are you still willing to come with us?"

"Of course!" she said cheerfully, "I've been here for most of my life! It'll be great to go out on an adventure,"

Laxus nodded, "very well then, we'll be going now," he turned to Gajeel, "You get to watch her,"

"Fine," Gajeel glanced over at Levy, "Won't your old man be worried about ya, shrimp?"

"Shrimp?!" Levy said furiously at her new nickname, "My name is Levy and no, he won't, because he knows I'm leaving,"

"What?" Gajeel asked.

"Never mind, let's go," she walked past Gajeel, causing him to walk faster to be ahead of her. Levy glanced back to the King on the balcony. She waved at him and after face palming, waved back. As soon as they disappeared behind the doors.

King Makarov was by himself, "Now I wonder what caused my grandson to come back after all this time and take my daughter?" he wondered about this before shrugging and headed off back to bed.

* * *

Off in the distance, beyond the castle walls, stood a man in a black cloak and beside him was a small paper doll. He held up something towards his eye and spoke to the doll.

"Sir, I have visual on the Song Bird. She is leaving the castle with four men,"

The doll replied with a buzzing sound.

"I'll follow suit, just send someone else to follow me in case they catch me,"

* * *

**Jerzalover**: oh my (◡‿◡✿) thank you! You're the first to say that about my writing, thanks! Jrza is also one of my favs too. Usually, I try to write about a thousand or more words for each chapter….

Songs used: We didn't start the fire – Billy Joel

Frozen – Celldweller

Till I hear you sing – Love never die


	5. Into the Woods

Levy was ecstatic, finally leaving the castle for the first time in ages. She never really had seen the city near the castle much before, except from her tower. Now, here she is, wandering through it at night. She marveled at the now closed market, with its darkened stands. She noticed a sign saying, 'Library,' and before she knew it, she was headed towards the library.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going, shrimp?" Gajeel growled as he yanked her back.

"Oh, to the library," she said.

Gajeel sighed, "You do know you're basically running away, right? People would turn you in to the castle,"

"Oh," Levy said a bit downheartedly. She glanced up to see Gajeel's frowning face. She noticed the piercings on his face "did those hurt?"

"Did what hurt?" he asked, by now Levy was walking beside him.

"Your piercings,"

"Not really," he shrugged, "I've been having them since I was a kid,"

"Hey, you two," Laxus snapped, "be quiet or we'll get caught,"

"Sorry," they said sheepishly together and continued on their way.

* * *

With Laxus leading the way, the group soon found themselves in the forest beyond the castle walls. Levy soon got a bit frightened by the darkness and as they left the light back at the castle. She took a step closer to what she thought was Gajeel, but when she felt something rough touch her, she squeaked and took a step back, coming face to face with a tree.

She sighed and felt her heart racing out of her body. Strange animal's sounds clamored through the forest. She took another weary step forward then another and another. She was always afraid of the dark and knowing there was someone beside her didn't really help her much with her fear. Though there was only one time where she really became fearful of the dark.

Levy shook her head. This was no time to lose your cool, she thought to herself. She kept walking hoping that she was close to Gajeel or any of the others. When Levy looked up, there was a clearing up ahead with a fire burning bright. Against the light, she could see the three silhouettes of the men she was with.

As they entered the clearing, Levy saw two cats. At first, she awed at how cute they were and then went surprised as she realized they could talk and fly.

"Job well done, then?" Happy said as flew over to Natsu.

"Yeah! But the treasure turned out to be the Princess," Natsu said, shrugging a bit, "and she kinda came willingly,"

"Really? How so?" Pantherlily asked, eyeing Levy.

"It's a great tale, Lily," Gray smirked, "You see, she came down when Gajeel Sa-" he went flying and skidded across the ground.

"You don't have to tell him," Gajeel growled. No one noticed, but the top of his ears were red.

"Something you don't want to share, Gajeel?" Pantherlily asked, smiling.

"Not really," Gajeel said, standing up straight with his arms crossed, "Anyways, Happy, Lily, meet shri-I mean Levy, the Princess,"

"Hi!" "Hello," Happy and Pantherlily said in unison. Levy smiled at them and also said hello to them. Pantherlily came up to her.

"So, why did you decide to come with us? They were going to try and steal you, since you turned out to be the treasure," he asked.

"Well, they could've tried to, but I gave them a chance to….I guess to take me away safely, I guess. So I gave them an option to sing," Levy explained.

"Sing?" Pantherlily asked. He heard Gajeel groaned, "Ah, this is just a guess, but whoever sang the best, you decided you would have came willingly and if not, yell or something and Gajeel sang the best, didn't he?"

"Why, yes, you're correct!" Levy was amazed that the black cat was able to get all that correct. She was about to ask him something, but Laxus had cleared his throat. Taking this as signal, Gray, Natsu, Gajeel, Happy, and Pantherlily sat around the fire. Following their lead, Levy sat down in between Happy and Pantherlily.

"Now that we have the Princess, sooner or later the guards would notice her absence and try to come get her back," Laxus said.

If anyone where to come and get me, Levy thought, it would be my four handmaidens….

"So Gray, the map," Laxus glanced at Gray as he took out a map and laid it by Laxus feet. Finding a stick nearby, he used it as a pointer, "ok, we're here in the middle by the castle symbol, now the easiest way back to Fairy Tail,"

"Whats Fairy Tail?" Levy interrupted.

"It's a Guild, known for its mages and thieves," Gajeel said.

"and other things," Laxus said, "going back to the map; now the easiest way back would be through the towns of Basaha, Sycca, Oak Town and Daina,"

Without realizing it or noticing, two people flinched at the name Daina.

"Now, I know we'll be entering Raven Tail and Phantom Lords lands without permission, but when did we ever try and get their permission?" this earned a laugh from the boys in the group, "but still, we gotta be careful. Knowing Fairy Tails and Gajeel's history with Phantom Lord, Im sure they'll be very happy to catch us and capture the Princess," Laxus glanced at Gajeel when he said his name and Gajeel only shrugged.

"Now, I suggest we all go to sleep and get up quickly so we can get an early start," Laxus announced, he look over at Levy, "Since I assigned Gajeel to look after you, you'll be staying with him,"

"Wait, What?" Gajeel and Levy both gasped.

"You except me to share my tent with here?" Gajeel asked.

Laxus shrugged, "Why not? You're already sharing with Pantherlily,"

"He's a cat,"

"That doesn't mind sharing with another person," Pantherlily piped in.

Gajeel sighed and gave in, but he wasn't going to sleep in the same tent with Levy. He slept outside by the fire.

* * *

Levy was the last to fall asleep, laying there listening to the sounds outside the tent. She felt sad for leaving her home like that, but she had to get out before she (might've) gotten married to some random prince and besides, she wanted to know what the world outside the castle looked like. She stared off into space before absent-mindedly grabbing Pantherlily sleeping body and cuddled him, soon falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Jerzalover:** Thanks once again for reading and reviewing! Ok, to clear up on the grandson/daughter thing you said. In Fairy Tail, Laxus is Makarovs grandson, which I decided to keep in the story and mention it in the early chapters. Levy is Makarovs 'daughter' in my story, considering he took her in and didn't have any heirs left. And the mysterious man? You'll find out sooner or later :P


	6. To the rescue?

The sun rose above the tree tops and shone its light upon the clearing, hitting Gajeel's face. He grumbled as he turned to his side, trying to get away from the light. It was no good now since he was already awake. Grumbling more, he got up and stretched. He could hear snoring from Natsu's tent. He heard something rustling in the forest, but it was Laxus.

He noticed Gajeel was awake, "Good, you're up. Get the others ready," he commanded before going back into his tent.

"Fine," Gajeel mumbled. He walked over to his tent and lifts the flap open. He stopped and was surprised at the sight. The princess was hugging Pantherlily in his sleep. Gajeel wished he had something to take a picture with him. He glanced at the girl's sleeping face, her soft snores and….Gajeel shook his head.

There's a time and place for everything…he thought to himself, and this is no time to go and notice some princess….

"Hey," he said roughly, shaking her, "Wake up!"

Levy opened her eyes sleepily and noticed Gajeel standing above her, "Oh good morning,"

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah good morning…could you please hurry up and get ready, gonna leave soon….and stop hugging my cat!"

When Gajeel said that, Levy glanced down at the still sleeping cat in her arms, "oh," she said, letting him go, "Ah! Gaj-!" she was about to ask him something, but Gajeel had already left. She looked a bit downheartedly.

"Don't worry," Pantherlily yawned as rubbed his eyes, finally awake, "once he gets used to you, he'll probably be a bit nicer,"

"Probably?"

Pantherlily smiled and shrugged as he walked out the tent, "Oh and by the way, can you loosen your grip some? I couldn't breathe at one point,"

"Sorry!"

* * *

The sounds of heel clicked across the marbled floor. Lucy was walking down the hallway with a tray of breakfast foods. She came to the large doors and nodded to Jet and Droy, the current guards, to open the doors. They did so, letting in Lucy. As she walked through, they closed the doors behind.

"Good morning, Levy~!" She said in a sing song sort of voice, placing the tray on a small table that was placed outside the cage, "Today's breakfast is scrambled eggs, two slices of toast with goat butter, and orange juice!"

Lucy glanced up when she realized there were no sounds of movement. She noticed the back door of the cage was opened and as she walked towards the edge, the rope ladder was down. The chair has been moved the slightest.

Weird, Lucy thought. She hurried out of the ballroom and around towards the Grand hall, where she asked the guards and servants if they had seen the princess. She began to get worried by each no. she ran towards the dressings to only find Mirajane, even she had not seen the Princess. Lucy gasped and ran back out the door, followed by a confused Mirajane. Hiking up her skirts and taking off her shoes, she ran as fast as she could to the King's chambers, which she banged on the door.

"What is it?" Marco, the King's personal bulter, answered the door.

"I request to be in the King's presence immediately!" Lucy commanded.

"Sorry Miss Lucy, But he is in a war council right now,"

"This early in the morning?" Mirajane asked.

Marco nodded, "Sir Gildarts arrived early this morning and wanted the meeting to set up right there,"

Lucy grimaced, "Very well then, please tell the King I was here and I have urgent news for him!"

"I shall…." Marco said, but went quiet as the King appeared from behind the doors and so did Ezra

"No need for that," Makarov smiled, "The meeting just ended," he shooed Marco away as he turned his attention to Lucy.

"Sir! The Princess is gone!" Lucy cried.

"Gone?!" Mirajane and Ezra gasped.

"Yes, she is," Makarov sighed, "Saw her leave myself,"

"WHAT?!" the three girls almost screamed, "WHY?!"

"Well I believed she needed some away from the castle and I-" Makarov didn't finished his sentence as the three girls went hysterical in their own way.

"Did she leave by herself?! Of course she did! She left Jet, Droy and me here! Oh why didn't she take me?" Lucy cried.

"Oh no, oh no! What is she going to wear? Did she pack all the essentials?" Mirajane walked in a circle.

"The Princess is unprotected! I am part of her personal guard! I must go to her at once!" Ezra yelled, but calmed down. She calmed the other two down as well, "I think I may have a clue where the Princess might've gone!" and she led the way from there.

"Ah girls! She isn't alone!" Makarov tried to explain to them, but none of them listened. He rubbed his temples, "who ever thought running a castle alone was easy,"

* * *

Soon everything was packed up and ready to go. Gray made sure there were no signs of the fire that was lit during the night, in case someone is trailing them. Being an extra person, Levy was asked to carry a bag that held some items.

For some reason, unknown to Levy, the thieves liked to walk in a single file line. With Laxus leading the way, Levy behind him, then Gajeel, Gray, and Natsu. Happy and Pantherlily mostly flew in the sky, but came down to rest on their respective partners. Levy giggled to herself at the sight of the black resting on top the gruff dragon slayer, who gave her a look of annoyance.

* * *

Ezra led them down a series of hallways to the servant's quarters and towards a room with a blue door. Ezra knocked three times before letting herself in. Sitting at a desk was a long blue haired woman.

"How may Juvia help you today, Ezra?" she asked.

"Remember what you told me earlier?" Ezra asked.

"YES!" Juvia cried happily, hearts in her eyes.

"Can you tell me about it again? I would like to share it with these two," she said, pointing at Mirajane and Lucy.

"Of course!"

"Ezra, whats going on here?" Mirajane asked.

"At first when she told me her story, I didn't believe her, but now I know that the Princess is gone, I think she was telling the truth," Ezra explained.

"Juvia never tells a lie!" she huffed, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Of course! I'm sorry that I said that, I believe," Ezra quickly said.

"Juvia forgives you! Now my story….," Juvia started to tell her tale, "Juvia was making her rounds around the Ballroom, when she notices four people coming to the main door. Juvia quickly hides, turning herself into water. Juvia slides near them as they enter the ballroom! Juvia was about to attack when the Princess spoke! Then Juvia watched as they each sang, except for one. Oh, one had the most magical voice!" Juvia said lovingly, "Juvia thinks she fell in love with him! Then he came out and accidently stepped on her," there was a blush on her cheeks, "Juvia caught his name, it was Gray,"

"Yes, Yes, another lovely story, but what about the Princess?" Lucy demanded.

"Oh, yes, well, another one sang, which Juvia is sure she knows him from somewhere, and the Princess came down and left with them….that's it,"

"That's it? Did they kidnap her?" Mirajane asked, worriedly.

"Juvia thinks that the Princess went willingly," Juvia replied.

Ezra pondered about this, if she did went willingly, would she ever come back? Either way, it's part of my job to get her back….

"Whether or not she went willingly, I'm going to go find her," Ezra said.

"Count me in too!" The other three said and Ezra knew there was no way of stopping them from coming.

* * *

**Did I get Juvias speech right? I hope so...**


	7. Lets go

_Fire rose above the town, devouring the buildings it got closer. A man on a dark horse grew bigger with each step, dark purple eyes glowing in his darkness. A light shot past him, in the form of a hand, which a smaller hand took a hold of it._

_"Don't worry! I'll bring you somewhere safe!"_

_A rush of black hair and sudden darkness, the roar of fire and unbearable heat._

_"Shrimp…."_

_"Hey, Shrimp! You still alive?"_

* * *

"Huh?"

Levy glanced up, Gajeel was staring down at her.

"While you were daydreaming, you almost tripped a couple of times and almost wondered off in your own way,"

"Oh," Levy's face grew red in embarrassment, "Sorry, I was just remembering something…"

"Remembering what?" Gajeel questioned her.

She waved him off, "nothing that would be important to you."

Gajeel shrugged and walked off. Levy eyes stayed on Gajeel's back as he went over to talk to Laxus. I wonder what they're talking about, she thought.

"Have you noticed?" Gajeel said as he came along side Laxus.

"Yeah, they've been following us since we left the castle," he replied, "I've already sent Happy and Pantherlily to investigate,"

Gajeel nodded and walked a few steps behind Laxus. He could hear Natsu and Gray having one of their fights. He ignored them as usual as he slowed his pace down to make sure Levy was walking in front of him. For a princess who was probably stuck in a castle for all her life, she keeping up, not even complaining, he thought, though she could be troublesome.

He remembered earlier while she was daydreaming, she almost tripped over a limb and fell down the hill they were recently walking on. He sighed to himself; this girl will spell trouble for him. Though he couldn't shake himself out of feeling that he met her before. He knew he never met a princess before, maybe it has something to do back in hit Phantom Lord days.

The sound of flapping wings broke his train of thought and felt Pantherlily on his head. He saw Happy fly by towards Laxus.

"Anything to report?" Laxus asked Happy.

"Aye sir! One man following us with what seems to be floating paper doll," he replied.

"Raven Tail," Laxus grumbled, "how close is he?"

"Mmh, about to finish crossing the hill a ways backs,"

* * *

"That's close…but why is Raven Tail following us? We not as nearly as close to their guild's territory," Gajeel said to Pantherlily.

Pantherlily shrugged, "Maybe they too were trying to get the treasure and found out you got it first,"

"Maybe….she's lucky then, Raven tail wouldn't have treated her as nice as we are," Gajeel huffed, glancing at Levy as she walked in front of him. Suddenly, Pantherlily's smirking face came into view.

"What are you thinking of?" he asked.

"Nothing that matters to you!" Gajeel said, waving Pantherlily off.

"Very well then," Pantherlily said, still smirking as he flew off to go talk to Levy.

The group continued their trek, some time switching up the line, so the group had different positions to check for enemies and such, though Levy said in the same place in line. The sun began to set as the first day of traveling together came to an end.

Happy found flat spot where they could set up camp. No sooner than 15 minutes passed that four tents went up and a fire started to blaze. Happy went crazy happy when he realized they were having fish for dinner. Levy giggled at the sight, she sat between Gajeel and Pantherlily as she partakes in dinner, which was when questions started to rise.

"So, do you guys always walk?" she asked.

"Usually," Gray shrugged, "sometimes we take trains and such, but these always get motion sickness,"

"Sucks though," Natsu said as he stuffed another fish in his mouth, "I really hate the feeling, wish Wendy was here,"

"Wendy?"

"Another person part of the group," Gajeel said, "she knows a spell to help with motion sickness,"

"Though, it's kinda strange that all three of you have motion sickness," Levy pointed out, taking another bite out of her fish.

"Not really," Pantherlily said, "Those three are Dragon Slayers, so it's common for them,"

"Dragon slayers?! I've read about them before, never thought there were people out here who were still knew dragon slaying magic,"

Levy continued to chat with the group, getting to know them. All four of them came from different places, but Laxus seemed to be more reluctant to tell about his past, so did Gajeel, but he spoke more than the leader of the group.

"I was a part of Phantom Lord before I came to Fairy Tail," he said.

"Why did you change guilds?" Levy asked.

"Well, I never wanted to be part of Phantom Lord, but I was kid when I….joined…and I nowhere else to go, so I stuck with it until Phantom Lord started a war with Fairy Tail,"

"Which you started," Gray interrupted.

"Yes, I started it" Gajeel growled, "but that's in the past anyways," he turned back to his story, "I realized afterwards, that Fairy Tail had the things I was always looked in for a guild,"

"And what was that?" Levy asked again.

Gajeel shrugged, "I guess you can say unity, maybe, it had a good atmosphere,"

"Being in a guild sounds fun,"

"It is," Gray said, "though it sucks when certain people burn down things and you don't get your pay for a job,"

"If faid ife vaz sorri," Natsu said as he ate the last fish.

"Yeah, but that don't let us get the money back, you flame brain!"

Natsu gulped his food down quickly to challenge Gray, "Oh yeah, droopy eyes?! Wanna fight?!" before Natsu got a replied, a block of ice hit his face. Natsu fell backwards, moving the ice of him and growled. His fists a glow with flames. Natsu and Gray got in a full blown fight. Gajeel placed his hand of Levy's head, moving her in all directions to avoid flying objects.

"Natsu…" Laxus said, which the two suddenly stopped and stared at Laxus, "Laxus," he said.

Levy stared at him, confused on why he would say his own name when she noticed Natsu's cheeks growing bigger.

"FIRE DRAGONS ROAR!" a burst of flame came from his mouth, barely touched Laxus as it went past him and towards the woods behind him, where a human scream came from. The heat from the roar disappeared and only the screams of pain from someone echoed in their ears.

Laxus got up and walked over to the screams, followed by Gray and Natsu. Gajeel stood by Levy.

As the three came forward, a man was crouching down, his screaming had stopped. He's clothes were burned, some edges still being gnawed away by the ashes. The man glanced up to see Laxus glaring at him.

"Why is Raven Tail following us?" he growled.

"I…will…never…tell….details…"The man grumbled and coughed out his words, "But I…will tell…you this….watch out for her…" he took something white off the ground and placed it in his mouth.

"Wait!" Laxus shouted as he tried to swipe the white thing from him, but he already swallowed it. The man choked as white foam came from his mouth. His body went limp and fell to the ground, twitching once more.

"What the hell was that?" Gray asked.

"A suicide pill….it must be serious for Raven Tail to go that far to keep their secrets hidden," Laxus turned around and stared at Levy, "We need to make haste on our journey now that Raven Tail is chasing after us,"

* * *

Meanwhile at the same time, Ezra stared out the window of a moving train, watching as the moon rose higher in the night sky. She listened to the soft snores of Lucy and Juvia as they leaned against each other for support as they slept.

She remembered the talk of their destination from earlier…

_"So if you were a princess, where would you go?" Lucy mumbled._

_"Juvia is not sure," Juvia answered._

_"Maybe we could use some extra help," Mirajane suggested._

_"And who would we ask to help AND keep their mouths shut?" Ezra asked._

_"Fairy Tail,"_

* * *

Thank you everyone for the reviews! I love them! and sorry for a bit of a late update been busy...on other news, i've been made an admin of a Fairy Tail fan page on facebook :


	8. Meeting of Fate

Somewhere far away from our two groups in a lonely building….

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

A red light flashed in the darkness.

Yellow light spilled from an opened door, shining across several floating spheres. A short figure appeared, fast walking to the red light. He huffed as he tapped his fingers on some keys. A screen lit up in front of him, it was a large map. The red light shone from a certain point that was a couple miles away from the castle of Fiore.

"So, he took the pill, did he? I told Ivan he wasn't ready," the man mumbled. He typed in some words and one of the spheres behind him glowed. It was Lacrima. The man walked over and waited till another appeared.

"What is it, Nullpudding?" the man said.

"Ivan, sir. It seems the new member you sent out to go get the princess, has taken the pill," Nullpudding said.

"I see, do you know what happened?"

"No sir,"

"Hmm, did you send backup like you said he requested?" Ivan asked.

"Yes sir, I sent Obra," Nullpudding replied.

"Good…I HOPE we get her before Phantom Lord does, or someone is going to feel pain," and with that, the Lacrima shut down, Ivan's face disappearing. Nullpudding sighed before turning back to the map.

* * *

After making haste after the unwelcomed death, Laxus hustled the group till they made to the large town of Basaha. Sure, he made them make it in two days, but he did buy them hotel rooms to rest in. The name of the hotel was The Prancing Pony, one of the best, but cheap hotels in the town. Luckily for Levy, she got a room all to herself and didn't have to share with the boys.

They needed to stay in the town for a few more days, for business, Laxus told her. Levy figure it dealt with Lacrima message he received the other night. He ordered Gajeel to stick with her if she decided to roam about the town, which he agreed to. He found himself one hour later following her around, with the company of Pantherlily.

"Where are we going first, Levy?" Pantherlily asked.

"The Library!" she said cheerfully.

"The library? Why would you want to go to such a boring place?" Gajeel grumbled.

Levy turned on her heel to face him, "The library is not a boring place!" she huffed, "it's a wonderful place that brings stories to people,"

"Yeah, yeah," he pushed her forward, "C'mon shrimp, it's this way,"

"Don't have to push," she stomped, hoping he didn't see the blush on her face. Gajeel chuckled behind her and continued to follow her. Pantherlily smiled at the scene.

* * *

Somewhere else in the town of Basaha…

Lucy sighed as she swirled a straw into her drink, "Would we ever find her? Who knows where she's at?" she took a sip of her drink.

"Don't worry, Juvia is sure we'll find her…and Mira says we're meeting someone tonight that might be able to help us," Juvia said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

The small group of four girls arrived the night before, where Mirajane had contacted what she says an old friend who is a part of Fairy Tail. Ezra was surprised that Mirajane knew someone like that. They were to meet him and his group tonight at a bar called MacLaren's.

Ezra came up and sat down next Juvia, placing her plate of food down on the table, "This is the plan for tonight, we'll go in separately and sit at different places…just in case something happens and we can fight…Mirajane would do all the talking,"

"So, who is Mira going to talk to again?" Lucy asked, taking a bite out of egg sandwich.

"Just an old friend she says," Ezra shrugged, "but we don't know for sure,"

"Ah," Juvia and Lucy said in unison. They continued to eat their breakfast in silence, listening to things around them. As Lucy took another bite of her sandwich, she couldn't take her mind off something. On her way to this café, she thought she saw Levy walking, but she disappeared. Thinking that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, because she worried about Levy, she wasn't too haste to remove the idea of it actually being her.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor interrupted her thoughts as she noticed Mira coming towards them. She sighed as she sat down next to Lucy.

"Something the matter, Mirajane?" Juvia asked.

"Not really, it's just that….my friend…wants to meet me, but he'll also have some of his friends there, coming a bit later. So it won't be as private…" she explained.

"Don't worry, Mira. I have everything planned out just for that…" Ezra said with confidence.

* * *

Hours later, around dinnertime….in bar called MacLarens…

Mira sat a table big enough to seat 6; her back was to the door. At the Bar sat Lucy, drinking some sort of drink that she ordered. Juvia was at a table for two, she had a clear view of Mira and her table. Juvia had book for her to pretend to read. Ezra was at another table, her back to the others, and she had two plates of Strawberry Shortcake, which she ate happily while keeping an eye on the situation.

A spiky haired man wearing a suit came and sat by Lucy, he ordered a drink.

"Anything?" Lucy asked.

"Nope, there were a few people, But mostly people still shopping or going on dates," he replied.

"Thanks Loke,"

"Anything for my Lucy,"

"I'm not yours,"

They two continued to talk. More people came and go into the bar as it got later into the night. A party somewhere off in the corner got rowdy, causing Juvia to move to a different table and order dinner. A small bell rang as the door once again opened. A very tall man came through, his coat hanging over his shoulders; he was followed by two others, one with pink hair and the other with dark blue almost black.

When Juvia saw the guy with the dark, she felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. She calmed herself, realizing it was the same guy from the castle. She wanted to get up and warn Ezra, but they were headed towards Mira.

"Mirajane?" The tall asked as he came up behind her. She turned and had a huge smile.

"Laxus! How long has it been?"

He came around the table and sat down, followed by the other, "almost 5 years, how have you been?"

"It's been good, found a great place to work since I left," she replied. Laxus nodded and gestured to his companions, "This is Natsu and Gray, there are two more, but they'll be coming a bit later,"

"I see,"

Gray looked up to see a women dressed heavily in blue clothes, for some reason, he felt like he had seen her before.

"Now to get down to business, why exactly have you called me here for?"

"Well you see, I and my friends need the help of Fairy Tail,"

"Why?" Natsu asked. Gray nudges Natsu, trying to get his attention. Natsu ignored him. Gray kept nudging him, he wanted Natsu to look at the women, but he kept annoying him.

"We need help finding-"

"THAT'S IT!" Natsu yelled, grabbing Gray and throwing him across the room. He was thrown against someone; he landed roughly against the floor.

"Why you-!" Gray stopped talking, he fight an evil aura behind him. A woman clad in armor rose from her seat and turned; her face was covered in cake. Her eyes narrowed at him.

"You. RUINED. My. CAKE!" she said angrily.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Gray said, hustling back.

She kicked him, sending him flying through the air, landing on Natsu. Laxus got up from his spot in defense, Mirajane tried to stop him and calm Ezra down, but no one listened to reason.

"Ezra Scarlet, I command you to stand down!" All eyes turned to see the princess in the doorway, with Gajeel standing behind her.


	9. CONFIRMATION YA'LL

The people in the bar were all happy to be drinking till a man was thrown across the room, hitting another customer. Never start a fight in a bar; everyone knows how it will end. Some were able to get out before the red haired women threw the man back across, while the others got as close to the opposite wall as they could. Sparks of lighting were shown as another man got up from his seat. They all awaited a horrible fight that would probably consume the whole bar when some shouted at them.

"Ezra Scarlet! I command you to stand down!" All eyes turned to see a small girl with wavy blue hair, a tall man with long black hair stood behind her, and there was what seemed to be a black cat standing by their feet.

"P-P-Princess?!" Ezra yelped, immediately going down on one knee. The people near the walls were still frightened in fear of a fight that they weren't listening in on the conversation, just watching and ready to dodge if anything came their way.

"LEVY!"

Levy had come into the bar with all seriousness, but it disappeared when she was tackled to the ground by her best friend, "Lucy?" Gajeel was about to pull the other girl off, but realized Levy knew her.

"Why did you leave me behind?" she wailed.

"Is that all your worried about?" Levy asked nervously.

"NO! I was worried about you traveling by yourself! The dangers outside the castle! If Juvia didn't tell me about the men you went with, I would've been worried to death about your safety! I am your maid, you know!"

"Wait, hold on!" Gray said, finally getting up after being thrown, "Who saw us and who are you?"

"Let's talk outside," Laxus said.

Mirajane glanced at the crowd that was still in the bar, "Yes, let's go," she hustled them all out, forgetting about Natsu, who moments after came barging out of the bar.

Two sides faced off, the men versus the women. Lucy held tight to Levy, eyeing Gajeel.

"When you asked for my help, Mira, I didn't expect you'll have company, nor that you were looking the princess," Laxus said.

"Well, I didn't except Fairy Tail to be behind the taking of the princess," Mirajane smiled. If anyone looked upon their chat, they would only see smiling people and not the dark aura that surrounded them.

"Well we were after the treasure, but as it turns out, it was the princess, so we decided to take her," Natsu said, which earned a smack from Gray and Gajeel.

"You weren't supposed to tell them," Gray hissed, Natsu just shrugged.

"And she made you all sing," Lucy said.

"How you know that?" Happy said as he came flying down, surprising the girls.

"We know our Levy," Mirajane said, "Now, who sang what to make her come down?"

Three pairs of eyes landed on Gajeel, "I-I did," he said. The girls gaped at him, before turning their attention on Levy, who looked away, not wanting to meet their eyes. She knew what they wanted to ask.

"Good!" Lucy suddenly said.

"Now…Who is this girl who saw us leaving the castle?" Laxus asked.

"J-Juvia did," Juvia spoke.

"And you didn't stop us?" Gray asked.

Juvia thought she was going melt under his gaze, "J-Juvia….Juvia…Juvia…"

"Spit it out already!" Gray almost yelled.

"Juvia loves you!" she exclaimed, hearts in her eyes.

"W-what?!" Gray yelped, Gajeel and Natsu gaped at him.

"When Juvia first saw you, your mysterious being in the moonlight, it enchanted Juvia!" she said in a daze. Everyone stared at her as she went off in her little fantasy; Gray had a slight blush on his face. No one ever told him they loved him right in front of him.

"Don't mind her," Mirajane said sweetly, "she was walking down the corridor when she noticed you three entering the Ballroom,"

"That's where I knew her," Gray said, "I thought I saw someone, but they disappeared,"

"You couldn't tell us there?" Gajeel growled.

"Thought it was my imagination," he shrugged.

"So realizing the princess is gone, you came after her, and went as far as to ask Fairy Tail to help?" Laxus questioned them which they all nodded too, "great…"

"What do we do know?" Natsu grumbled.

Lucy stared at the boys then at Levy, then to the boys again and back to Levy.

"Very well then!" she said, "You can take her to wherever you're going,"

"Fairy Tail," Happy said.

"Fairy Tail, ok….take her there and we shall meet you there," Lucy explained. The people around her was shocked at first, but let the idea settle in, Juvia, Mirajane and the guys agree, but not Ezra.

"I'm still curious on why you came to get the King's treasure," she said, glaring at Laxus, who glared back.

"Everyone knows Fairy Tail also consists of thieves, and of late since I became Master, we've been lacking on money…" he explained, which Mirajane face palmed.

"What happened to Marco?" she asked.

"….left the guild in debt due to his gambling," Gajeel scoffed.

Silence leveled over the group. Ezra soon spoke up and told them that she agreed, only if they could take Levy for the night, which they just took her and ran to their hotel, leaving the guys in their dust. The four guys watched as they left. Natsu commented on how Lucy looked and then joked to Gray about his new admirer as they walked to their hotel, now with two boys each. As they got close, Gajeel smacked his head. He remembers Juvia from back in the old days when both of them were in Phantom Lord.

* * *

As the girls made sure they were far away they bombarded Levy with questions, asking why she left and what was so special about Gajeel's song and the final question that Mirajane asked that caused the whole group to go silent, is he the one?

Levy sputtered out her question, her face red. Lucy grinned at her, "we all know your skills when it comes to singing, you only look for the perfect guy who can sings the perfect song that's for you," she draped her arm over Levy's shoulders, pulling her closer.

"I'm still against you going off with four strange men, but I've already agreed to you going with them to Fairy Tail," Ezra spoke softly.

"I know, and I thank you all," Levy said, "I guess I could tell you guys what have so far happened,"

"Yes! And tell Juvia what you know of Gray!" Juvia said as tugged on her arm, making Levy giggle.

* * *

A silent man with a tall hat and a large nose stood in the darkness on top of a small building, a little creature crawled up his shoulder, "Kekekeke,"

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere else, a man swirled his glass of wine, "So, she's being escorted by Gajeel, hmm?"

"Yes sir," a fairly large man with a cloth covering his eyes said.

"Won't this be fun?" he grinned

* * *

**Wooo another chapter done guys!**

**I've been thinking of maybe a Fairy Tail goes to Silent Hill story...where Team Shadowgear accidentally goes to Silent Hill and only Jet is able to make it out...dun dun duunnn and he comes back to Fairy Tail for help...**

**maybe one day XD**

**but I really should work on some other stories before that...I also making a future kid story where they come to the past...overused I know, but its fun to do...**

**anyways read and review!**


	10. Just a Morning

Levy woke up first in a dizzy haze. She rubbed her eyes, trying to rub the sleepiness away. She remembered vaguely that someone, Mirajane, spiked the drinks Lucy had ordered. She sighed as she remembered how drunken Ezra came, she was one of those angry drunks and she really, REALLY got unto Levy about Gajeel and walking out of the castle with four men she didn't even knew.

Levy was a happy drunk and just laughed it off. Lucy was a weird drunk and kept asking someone to pet her, and Juvia cried on how Levy gets to spend time with 'her' Gray…and Mirajane? She left for a while, so no one still doesn't know what type of drunk she was.

She went around the room, looking for some pen and paper. Finally finding some, she wrote a little note saying she was off and that she'll see them at Fairy Tail. Smiling as she finished the note, placing it where she hoped they would find it and not go on another crusade to come find her. She left afterwards, walking in the morning light towards the hotel where her new comrade laid sleeping.

Humming to herself, levy walked the cobbled streets, passing vendors getting ready for the morning shoppers. She had just passed a fruit stand where an odd feeling came over her. She felt like someone was watching her. Glancing over her shoulder, she only saw a few people behind her. Levy continued walking past an alley, where after she passed it, she stopped and took a few steps back.

She glanced in the ally way, for a moment, she thought she saw a tall man standing there, if there ever was, he was gone now. She shrugged it off and hurried her way back to the hotel.

Entering the hotel lobby, she took a seat of the many couches that littered the room. Breakfast was being served and some the people staying there were already down. Levy ignored them and went off into her own little world.

* * *

Mirajane returned to the room to find everyone past out and Levy gone. She huffed for a moment before seeing the letter. Reading it, a smile grew on her lips, "that girl is going on the adventure of her life…but," Mirajane glance up and stared out the window, "I hope no harm comes to her…"

Juvia mumbled in her sleep, causing Mirajane to shake her head and put the letter down, "I'm sure she is in good hands,"

Gajeel was the first to awake in his room, Natsu was snoring loudly during the night that it kept him up for some time. Pantherl

* * *

ily snuggled into his blanket and stirred lightly. Getting out of bed, Gajeel changed into his regular clothes and headed downstairs where the hotel workers had made breakfast.

He knew she was there before he rounded the corner. With his heightened sense of smell, he could she was there and that breakfast was eggs and bacon. He saw her sitting across the room, watching as people talked amongst themselves and eating. He snuck up behind her and sat beside her.

"Yo,"

She jumped a little, surprised at his presence, but she calmed a bit, "Good morning,"

"Wasn't that a surprise yesterday," he hummed, eyeing the plates of food the other people had.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked him.

"Not really,"

She nudged him, "Go ahead, it comes with your room. I'll be right here,"

He nodded, getting up. He grabbed a plate as he walked past, loading it with almost everything they had. Levy went wide eyed as she noticed how much food he had. He chuckled as he sat back down beside her.

"I get really hungry in the mornings," Gajeel grumbled as he bit into a slice of toast with an egg on top. Levy grinned.

"Do you want anything?" he asked.

"No, I ate before I came here," she replied, propping her hand up and leaning into it. Gajeel nodded and continued to eat. Levy noticed he would take bites out of the metal utensils. Soon the other three had come down for breakfast and started to talk about how they would get o Fairy Tail.

Natsu nudged Levy and had asked her more about her friends. She told him what she knew and what they did last night. Natsu started to tease Gray about his new 'love'. Gray was about to yell back when there was a shout of pain.

"OW!"

All heads swiveled to see an older man get out of seat quickly, pulling something off his hand, "WHO'S PET IS THIS?!" he held up a small black creature with what looked like a small brown crown on its head and beady yellow eyes. People around him murmured that they never seen a thing like that before. The creature started to chuckled darkly, causing the man to suddenly drop it in fear.

The thing landed on the table and jumped on people's heads, heading for the door. People screamed as it went by them. It landed on Levy's head and she tried to sway it away before jumping away. She thought she felt a small prick on her hand as if the creature had pulled a strand of her.

Soon half the room was cleared; some went back to their rooms, while some went to complain to the manager. Levy stayed in her seat, patting her hair back into place. Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel talked about what the thing was while Laxus stayed quiet.

Soon, the guys went back up to their rooms and collected their things. Levy waited for them outside the hotel, watching as people went by.

A tall man stood amongst the crowd, a large nose and a large top hat. The creature from this morning was on his shoulder. Levy blinked and rubbed her eyes, the man was gone.

"The drinks must still be getting to me," she grumbled.

"Whats getting to you?" Gajeel had just came out of the door, slightly startling Levy once again.

"Nothing really," she didn't want to tell anyone that a certain someone spiked her drinks last night, causing her to be drunk and that she might still be a bit hangover. Gajeel pushed her out of the way, letting there be room for the others to walk through.

The group was now headed to Sycca.


	11. No Puppet to be seen

Dark clouds moved in front of the sun, creating dark shadows across the land. The winds grew cold and started to pick up. Happy glanced up when he felt what seemed to be a drop of water. Soon more droplets fell from the sky turning into a storm.

Placing their hands in front of their faces to protect them from the oncoming rain, the group trudged their way forward, hoping to find some sort of shelter for them to stay during the storm.

Natsu sniffed the air and shouted some words in the air, but his voice was lost in the storm. He then made his way quickly as he can to Laxus and pointed out a direction, north east. Laxus led the group slowly in the same direction Natsu had pointed out. In moments, a large mouth of a cave appeared and the group rushed in.

The cave was dry and musty smell wafted in from the outside. Water dripped from 7 bodies, mixing with the dirt on the ground. It was rounded room that looked like it has been used before from other travelers that came before them. Ashes and burned sticks could be seen in a small pile in the middle of the cave, a sign that someone was their not too long ago.

Levy trudged forward before collapsing to the ground. The mud that was on the ground caked their clothes as the rest sat down. Natsu was able to find some kindle and created a small fire. Little warmth came from the small fire, so everyone huddled closer. Laxus was shivering the most as he came on full force with the rain.

Levy glanced back and forth between the members of Fairy Tail, "Soo….how close to Sycca are we?"

Gray opened his soaking pack and found a dripping map. Sighing to himself, he laid it on his lap. Most of the ink was still intact except for some water marks, "Guessing that we are here…" he pointed to a certain in the map, "Sycca is probably a four day walk from here….if the weather clears up…" he said as he glance to the mouth of the cave.

Lighting struck outside, giving bright flashes of light. The fire grew smaller and bigger as gust of winds blew in. Pantherlily and Happy was the closet to the fire, so they got dried quicker than the others. Levy glanced out towards the opening of the cave. Another bolt of lightning hit somewhere close, causing bright light. Levy gasped as a dark shadow loomed in front of the cave as the lightning struck, but disappeared as it went away.

Levy stared at the cave entrance and shook her head. I must be sleep deprived or something, she thought to herself as she moved closer to the fire. Soon enough, everyone fell asleep as they warmed up and the storm still rages on...

* * *

Early morning when the sun hasn't risen….

Obra walked silently into the cave, only causing slight footprints into the muddy ground that was slowly drying. The creature rode untop of the top hat, glancing at the sleeping forms before him. He eyed the blue hair princess and began to move. He hopped off the tall man and unto the ground. He scurried across the floor till he reached the princess.

"Kekekeke," he chuckled to himself. Suddenly, his grin turned to a grimace. He glanced back up and recounted the sleeping bodies. Including the princess and the two exceeds, there was only three others. Someone was missing.

Obra turned back to his puppet, only to see him down, attack from behind. The missing man had it pinned down. Obra's smiling grin completely disappeared from his face. He scampered away, hiding away in the bag that was nearest to him.

Laxus stirred when he heard someone scuffling about. He pried his eyes open to see Gajeel pinning someone down with his iron cuffs. Quickly getting up, he noticed that the man's skin was blue and had a large nose.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Well, earlier, I noticed something standing during a flash of lighting, but he quickly disappear so I thought it was part of my imagination…then I realized that the shrimp princess gasped during the same time and was looking outside…," Gajeel explained, "as the rain died down, I was able to smell him and ambush him,"

"I see," Laxus replied, nudging the body, "do you kill him?" when the body gave no response.

"No!" Gajeel said a bit too loudly, causing Natsu to stir. Natsu rubbed his eyes and got up. He blinked a few before realizing there was an enemy in the cave.

"Whats going on? Who's that?" Natsu asked and he got up and walked over. He sniffed the air, he smelt something like cotton, "…why is there a doll here?"

"A doll?" Gajeel and Laxus said in unison.

"Yeah…" Natsu walked around the doll and punched it in the stomach; he was able to punch through and pulled up what seemed to be stuffing. There was silence in the cave besides Grays light snoring. Laxus looked down on the puppet.

"If this is the puppet, then where is its master?" Laxus asked. The three looked at each other and back at the puppet. Suspicion gnawed at their cores. Could the puppet master be watching them, from inside the cave or outside? And who sent them was the real question. Were they after them themselves? Or does someone know about the princess.

Keeping quiet, Gajeel pinned the lifeless doll to the wall of the cave and returned to his spot on the floor, followed by Natsu and Laxus. Even as they fell back to sleep, they were still alert to their surroundings, wondering what and who else is making their move that night.

Two white eyes watched them from within the confinements of a small bag. Its grin glistened in the moonlight that streamed in from the outside; the storm had subsided for now.


End file.
